There's a popular expression that people use when talking about life, and how fast time goes by. It is used ironically, in situations where it is clear that absolutely no one is having fun. It's used on cheesy cards, congratulating us on graduating, or being promoted, or any other major life event. It is used on social media, in captions about leaving behind a chapter of life. "Time flies when you're having fun."
Isn't it funny that we treat the word "time" as something that is physical or something that we can see or touch? We talk about is as if it is a breeze blowing by, that it flies by, or as if it is actual sand falling in an hourglass or the hand of a clock, ticking away. In reality, we cannot see the seconds ticking away, the hours passing, or any other representation of time passing moment by moment, other than the sunrise and the sunset. To the human eye, time is noticed in the past tense, in that we see how much it has passed, in the form of a growing child or the greying hair of a family member.
We cannot "see" that time is flying. We definitely feel it, though. There may have been a point in time in which you realized that time had flown by, whether it was your last day of high school or your first day of college. You may have caught yourself saying things like "it feels like just yesterday..."
As kids, it feels like time is endless, that we have forever to do whatever we want. Nights spent playing red rover and eating popsicles stand out as lasting forever in my memory. Family vacations to Mount Rushmore, school field trips to the museum, those memories don't feel very long ago.
In my opinion, the phrase "time flies when you're having fun," doesn't just refer to all of the happy moments we have in our childhood or the life changes that occur as you go through life. Time flies because life- even the times that aren't necessarily "fun"-is so extraordinarily different in each moment, through the highs and the lows, that we are fully immersed in it. Time flies because, in the best way possible, we look at each day as a new beginning. A fresh start. Another chance to achieve what we want to achieve.
Whether we intend to or not, whether we wake up each day and think to ourselves, "It is a new day," we treat life as a winding road, not as an hourglass. Time, to us, is each day, each step along the path. Rather than having our eyes glued to the time trickling away until it is all gone, we look forward as we take steps. Sometimes, our eyes look down, and we see ourselves taking steps. There goes getting our driver's license. Another step. Moving into our college dorm. Another step. Interviewing for our first job. One more step. Always moving forward, always taking small leaps.
Sometimes, we look back at how far we've come, and are impressed with ourselves. Taking a look over our shoulder and seeing how many steps we've taken can give us a sense of accomplishment.
I prefer to look at the phrase "time flies when you're having fun," as proof of how incredible this life really is. Time flies, yes, but as it does, there is so much to experience. How can we not have fun?
